ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how Japanese decision makers, especially military realists, shaped Japan's policy towards India, which was influenced by the India-US relations and China's rise. It examines the reform of the Japanese security policy and activism of the Japan Self-Defence Force (JSDF). The naval cooperation has been an important driver of the relationship and accordingly it focuses on how the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) expanded security cooperation with other countries and then describes defence ties with the Indian Navy. The chapter analyses Tokyo's perception of the Japan-US alliance and how it affects relations with India. It focuses on the future challenges for the India-Japan relations. It then explains Japan's India policy through the prism of military realism propounded by Mike Mochizuki. Mochizuki explained Japanese domestic politics by four schools of strategic thought: unarmed neutralism, Japanese Gaullism, political realism and military realism.
